Henry's Freedom Box

Henry's Freedom Box
Ellen Levine (2007)


I was introduced to Henry's Freedom Box in summer class.  The book was propped up on a table and the cover immediately grabbed my attention!  The illustration on the cover, and the rest of the book, are beautiful! This story is the true story of a slave who mailed himself to freedom back in the Underground Railroad time period in American History.  I would use this book in a 3-5 classroom.  Slavery is a heavy theme, and this story helps to accurately describe the feelings and events that slaves lived through in this time period.  This book would be very beneficial in a social studies unit on the Underground Railroad.  This book is a quality book to use because the story is interesting, the characters are believable, the language and illustrations are authentic, and the author has avoided contradictions with real history. Once again, I highly recommend this book to everyone!